


turn a different corner and we never would have met

by stefonzolesky



Category: Arrested Development
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 02:47:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14126445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stefonzolesky/pseuds/stefonzolesky
Summary: "I like us."





	turn a different corner and we never would have met

**The first time** Gob sees Tony, he doesn’t say anything. He watches from the back of a venue with his jaw ajar because  _ why can’t he be like that? _ Tony is incredible, he’s… on a whole different level. It’s amazing.

**The first time** Gob talks to Tony, he feels starstruck. He stumbles over his words and laughs a little too much and tries his hardest not to make a fool of himself.

And  **the first time** Gob kisses Tony, it’s heated. He’s frustrated and angry and thousands of other emotions that he can’t name, but the one that rises to the top is betrayed.

He isn’t sure why he does it. He should be yelling and pointing an accusing finger, but their masks are on the ground and both of them are there, they’re both exposed, and the first thing that Gob does is kiss Tony.

He doesn’t expect Tony to kiss him back, but he supposes that he hasn’t expected a lot of what’s been happening recently, so he just goes with it. What’s the worst that could happen?

It gets to be more, and more, and angrier, and angrier. That night is a story that tells itself.

 

The kissing becomes a regular thing. Neither of them have any complaints about it. Gob feels himself slipping further and further into a domesticity that he isn’t used to, but it doesn’t suffocate him like he thought it would. He visits after work, and Tony’s house almost always smells like cookies. 

 

Tony is the reason that Gob learns there’s more to dating than just fucking. That’s not to say that they don’t fuck -- there’s plenty of that. It’s just that they do other things, too. Things that Gob has never thought about before. They fall asleep watching TV and sometimes Tony makes him watch the sunset. They set off fireworks on New Year’s and sit on the roof sharing a bottle of wine. 

( _ And _ they fuck. Gob is more vanilla with Tony than he’s ever been with anyone else, suddenly shy about his body and flustered even though they’ve done this before. They both have scars, though, and they take comfort in each other. Everything feels a lot more intimate with Tony, and afterwards he stares up at the ceiling and thinks about how grateful he is for this relationship, while Tony plays connect-the-dots with the freckles on his shoulder.)

It’s with Tony that Gob realizes every other relationship he’s been in has been a fraud because he’s never understood feelings, he’s never… had that before. Tony Wonder is his first bona-fide relationship.

(It’d be cheesy to tell Tony this, but Gob wouldn’t want it to be anyone else. He keeps that to himself.)

It brings Gob more pleasure than he’d like to admit to be the only person within his family that has a working and honest relationship. He realizes it’s selfish of him, but at the same time, he doesn’t really care. Michael is still working out everything with his son and Rebel Alley, his parents are getting a divorce, and sometimes he thinks that Lindsay doesn’t even realize that she’s still married.

Gob finally understands what Michael got out of being the only sane one in the family. The sense of superiority, as false as it may be, is nice.

Tony grounds him, though. Tony reminds him that he doesn’t have to count as one of them. That he’s good enough to stand on his own two feet.  

 

**The first time** Gob says “I love you” and means it, he says it to Tony. The words taste bitter and foreign, but he means every bit of it. He hopes that Tony realizes how hard that is for him. He’s never been any good at feelings. 

Tony smiles this big, goofball smile and says “I love you too,” and Gob wraps an arm around his boyfriend, completely endeared by everything that Tony does.

It takes Gob a little while to break out of his shell, keeping a safe distance from Tony whenever they’re in public. Before, it was revenge, he was trying to convince Tony that he was genuine, and that was fine for some reason. But now, everything is too real. He keeps to himself around people.

Back at Tony’s house, Gob is all over his boyfriend. He was starved for attention through his entire life. This new opportunity makes his chest hurt. He holds Tony’s hand and plays with the big, bulky rings that he has on his fingers like Stefon does on  _ Saturday Night Live _ .

He cooks breakfast for Tony on the mornings after he stays over, albeit a very burnt breakfast, but it’s the thought that counts. Right? And Tony appreciates it, smiling blindingly, and it makes Gob feel  _ so good about himself, _ and nobody has ever done that for him before.

For once in his life, Gob is prepared to put someone else’s needs before his.

Eventually, he and Tony become two sides of the same coin. They fall into routines, spending nights watching movies, or making breakfast together, or showing up at Michael’s work to put candy on the back of his shirt like that one time Michael did the same thing to Gob so many years ago.

 

“What’s gotten you so happy?” Michael asks him later that day, still trying to pick pieces of candy off of his suit jacket, which he’s laid out in front of him on the desk. “It’s just getting weird at this point.”

It’s at that point Gob remembers that Michael doesn’t read  _ Poof, _ and that neither does the rest of his family, so naturally word hasn’t really gotten around to them yet. Earlier that week, Lucille had asked him about the sudden influx of gay couples buying houses, but Gob was only half paying attention at that point and didn’t really make the connection.

“Right.” Gob’s mouth is dry. “You don’t know about everything that’s been going on in my life. Obviously.”

Michael’s eyebrows furrow. “Are you upset about that, or something? I’ve been really busy trying to make money, and fix my relationship with my son, and keep Barry from screwing everything up with Buster’s trial, so I’m  _ sorry _ for not taking an interest in your life, I guess.”

Gob shrugs. He doesn’t really understand where Michael’s frustration is coming from, so he just ignores it. “I’m in a relationship. If you care.”

Michael throws a  _ Lifesaver _ in the garbage. “Like, a real relationship that you aren’t going to run away from? Or one of the fakes that you always end up trying to get out of. Because I think it’s about time you start making commitments, you know.”

“No, it’s--” Gob sighs exasperatedly. “It’s a real relationship, and it’s a real commitment, and I’ve finally figured out what  _ feelings _ are, Michael, be  _ happy _ for me!”

“Alright, fine.” Michael rolls his eyes. “I’m happy for you, I guess. For once in your life you won’t suffocate me with your need for affection, because you’ve got a girlfriend to run to.”

“Girlfriend?” Gob is momentarily confused, and then he realizes yet again that, oh, yeah, Michael has no clue what’s been going on in his life. “I  _ wonder _ where that idea came from.”

In less than a second, smoke fills the room, and Tony appears from under the desk. “Did somebody say--” He starts, but then he chokes on the smoke and the fire alarms go off, and before they know it, both Gob and Tony are being lectured by Michael behind the building while Lucille explains to the firemen that it was an honest mistake.

Right before they leave, Michael stops Tony. His eyes have softened from the cold, hard anger during the lecture, and he presses his lips into a thin line. “Don’t hurt my brother, alright?”

Tony laughs. “I won’t,” He promises, and apparently that’s good enough for Michael. “We’re good together,” Tony adds. “If you haven’t noticed.”

Michael just smiles, and he watches the two of them leave while they bicker about something or another with hearts in their eyes. They’re good together.

 

Gob, because of how deprived of affection he’s been his entire life, clings to Tony like he’s a life source. He’s terrified that Tony will get tired of it, but for some reason he hasn’t, so Gob continues to cling to him. 

One day, Michael advises him to let up. To give Tony some space, just in case he needs it. And Gob is so scared of losing Tony that he actually listens.

 

**The first time** they fight, everything is tense. Gob considers storming out in some sort of dramatic ‘fuck you’ gesture, but instead, he just leaves quietly when Tony isn’t there to see. He thinks that being silent might hurt more. They both forget what the fight is actually about, though, and just end up pissed off for no reason. Gob goes through a pack of Mike’s Hard back at the model home, and Tony locks himself in his bedroom for the whole day. 

 

**The first time** they say “I’m sorry” is when Gob turns up to apologize the next day, (even though he isn’t sure what he’s apologizing for,) but Tony beats him to it, and their lips lock together before Gob is through the door. It’s the first time that Gob has actually felt the need to apologize for anything, and it’s liberating to recognize that he’s doing something wrong and try to correct it rather than sinking further like he’s always done.

They learn relatively quickly that they don’t fight often, but when they do, it’s brutal. Murderous. They're both stubborn, and they both overthink things, so it takes them ages to make up. Doors are slammed, texts are ignored, but they always fall back in each other’s arms in the end.

Michael can’t stand it, so they’re always more affectionate when he’s around. Just to get on his nerves. It becomes a game to see how uncomfortable they can make him.

Gob can tell that Michael doesn’t hate it as much as he says he does. Sometimes he catches Michael smiling. Gob can’t put together exactly  _ why _ Michael is smiling, but the approval always makes him feel a little bit better. A little less… wrong.

He doesn’t worry so much anymore. He doesn’t dwell on what his parents may or may not think of him, because that concern almost always goes to Tony, now. What does  _ Tony _ think? What would  _ Tony _ do? What would make  _ Tony  _ happy? He always has to care too much about what someone would say about the things that he does, and there’s nobody he cares about more than Tony.

 

Being with Tony makes Gob care a little less what his family thinks about him. Which is a good thing, because now that he’s with Tony, most of them are more disappointed in him than they’ve ever been.

“It’s one thing, being a homosexual,” Lucille says. “I mean, what’s one more of those in the family? It’s disappointing, but I’m not going to make a fuss about it.”

Gob is relieved, until she continues.

“But a magician?” She laughs. “Why did you have to go and catch a magician.” Pause. “At least he’s a real one. Maybe he can set you straight. Turn you off of the career.” She puts “career” in air quotes.

Gob tries to come up with an argument, but instead he just huffs indignantly and leaves her office.

George doesn’t bat an eye at it, like he already knew, but he treats Gob differently. Tony suggests that it’s because he wanted grandkids. Gob points out that he already has two --  _ three _ of those, technically. That can’t be the problem.

Buster proves to be the most supportive person in the family, stating that he called it when they performed the Sword of Destiny illusion. Unfortunately, that doesn’t do Gob any good, because Buster is in prison and therefore can’t change anyone else’s minds, but the sentiment is there. It helps a little bit.

 

“Do you ever wonder,” Gob starts off one day, his use of the word ‘wonder’ immediately grabbing Tony’s attention, “what might have happened if we weren’t stupid when we got together?”

“You’re still pretty stupid,” Tony jokes good-naturedly. “But no, yeah, I do. Like… without the plans, right? Without the goals?”

“Yeah,” Gob confirms. His mouth feels dry -- they haven’t addressed the stupid plans since they first sorted them out, months prior. “Do you think we’d be together now?”

There’s a heavy silence as the two men contemplate this idea, and then Tony sighs. “I don’t know. Do you wish it had happened in a different way?”

“I don’t know,” Gob admits. “I don’t think so. Do you?”

“No,” Tony says, sotto voce. “I like us.”

Gob smiles. He pulls Tony closer. “I like us, too.”


End file.
